Nuisance for authorities, helpful for some

LUCKOW: He can be extremely polite when pushing his demands but turn ruthless the next moment if he hears no. For Hazratganj cops and employees of Lucknow’s civic body he has been a big nuisance, but for people in the neighbourhood 40-year-old Bantu has been the go-to man.
With a lot of confusion over his condition, a tweet in his support reads – ‘The tiger should be back’.Bantu has been working dedicatedly for Samajwadi Party and has been close to senior party leaders. A lot of support and good wishes for Bantu have poured in on social media.
Bantu has humiliated SHO of Hazratganj in front of lower rung cops publicly and manhandled a sub-inspector publicly, attacked LESA men over power cut, set a fruit cart on fire, created ruckus in nagar nigam office and had a fistfight with several persons in the past decade.
He has remained corporator of the same ward twice and his wife Durgesh Nandini was corporator of Ram Teerath ward once when the seat was reserved for woman candidate. Describing his violent streak, a head constable posted at Hazartganj police station said Bantu’s clout has been on the wane lately. “Three criminals aged between 28 and 32 have gained notoriety in Narhi market in the past four years. Bantu’s clout had been challenged on multiple occasions by them,” said the cop.
The three have been extorting money from roadside hawkers, traders and have crossed swords with Bantu in the process. The latest FIR against Bantu was registered in June after he had a fiery battle with Shiva Yadav, another history-sheeter from Narhi. His nephew Abhishek said Shiva was behind the attack and present near the spot when the incident took place. Cops were corroborating the allegations and have yet to find witness. “Narhi residents are scared of Shiva and may not testify against him that easily,” said the head constable.